


First Adventure

by Music_Feeds_My_Soul



Series: Adventures of the Snow Family In Thedas [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Female Lavellan is not really a Lavellan, Modern Character in Thedas, More of a background for future stories, Other, Short Story, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 10:29:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16038635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Music_Feeds_My_Soul/pseuds/Music_Feeds_My_Soul
Summary: Harel is a Wandering Keeper who meets a human who wants to look at an Elven Ruin. After discovering she is half-Elven she agrees.Elizabeth Snow however just wants to find a way back home and really hopes the scary elf with a polearm doesn't figure her out.





	1. Chapter 1

Harel Shiralal frowned as she sat in the tavern, watching the shemlen around her as they drank and sang.

She had heard rumors of a woman asking for guidance from elves, stating she had found evidence of some sort of Ehlven Ruin in the forest nearby, and wished to explore it. Most of the other Traveling Keepers had shrugged it off, believing that the woman was crazy, or that she was a liar who wanted to kill an elf.

Harel though… she was the type to always try and find the facts. A server walked by her, carrying food and Harel raised a hand, stopping the woman.

“I’ve heard rumors of someone asking for an elven guide?” she asked politely. The woman blinked but then smiled at her, looking professional.

“That would be me. Mind waiting a bit?” the woman asked and Harel agreed, watching in silence as the woman left to work. 

The woman wasn’t anything special looking. Blonde hair cropped in military style, a sturdy frame with strong arms and of reasonable height, a bit short for a human. She had brown eyes that were friendly, but… she was like any other human.

So why would she want to explore a ruin? 

The woman came back and sat down after a period of time, carrying a strange looking book with her.

“Hi, my name is Elizabeth,” said the woman. “I’ve been looking for a guide for some time.”

“And what does a human wish to find in an Elhven ruin?” Harel asked, raising an eyebrow. “And how did a human discover it?” The woman blinked and looked surprised for a moment.

“You’re nicer than the other elf’s I’ve asked… and I should not have said that. Crap. Sorry.” Elizabeth made a face and shook her head as Harel simply raised an eyebrow at the shemlen. “I… I found another ruin where there was some inscriptions that lead me to believe there was a ruin near here. The previous ruin was full of undead so I felt someone who could help me fight would be a good guide, but I didn’t want another human because I felt that it would be rude to ask given welll… it’s Ehlven.”

“... How could you read the inscriptions?” Harel demanded. “Written elvish is rare!”

“I… I umm…” Elizabeth looked panicked, her eyes flashing around, but Harel’s mind had already raced forward.

“Are you half-elven?” she hissed and Elizabeth blinked, eyes wide in shock. “Shocked I discovered you so soon?”

“Uh… yeah.” Elizabeth agreed slowly, before pressing on. “I have them here,” she opened the book to reveal the inscriptions written down and some impressions as well. Harel took the book, missing the look on Elizabeth’s face.

Telling the scary elf with a polearm at her back that you could read the writing because you studied Ancient languages in University in an entirely different world was not smart.

Nope.

-0-

El Snow had not expected her hiking/mountain climbing trip to turn into a foray into a new world, but it had. The woman had not been pleased to fall into a temple and then stumble upon what she would later find out was a ritual site, leading to her finding herself in Thedas.

Thedas, like the video game.

All she wanted to do was find a way home, but no elf would take her to a ruin she had discovered existed in a small forest. 

(She was not going back to the undead-infested one. She barely got out of that alive).

Harel Shiralal (Harel the Wanderer according to one of the cooks at the tavern she had been working at), was an interesting find. A fairly tall Dalish elf, she carried a wicked polearm with a jagged blade on top. She wore a wolf-fur lined cloak over what looked like a white shirt and loose pants. She had accented her vallaslin with dark lipstick and dark eyeshadow, carrying herself with grace. 

El somewhat felt off, wearing a pair of loose trousers and a shirt, carrying her battered backpack and wearing her hiking boots. 

“I’ve never seen that type of canvas before…” Harel remarked, eyeing the bag.

“One of a kind, my sister made it.” Which… was technically true. Hannah’s father-in-law was the owner of the line her bag was from. 

“Interesting,” Harel said before falling silent, walking with El like a shadow. El appreciated it.

She wasn’t used to people. She’d spent years as a wanderer and tended to stay away from people unless she was using her degree for something. The only people she had spoken to on a regular basis had been Hannah and her family, though she doubted the twin terrors counted given they’d been four last time she saw them. 

...It had been almost a year since she fell into Thedas…

Shit, she’d missed so much of their life already, they were so young… Crap.

Sighing, she looked straight ahead. 

This temple was going to have information. It just had to.


	2. Chapter 2

“We’re lucky we haven’t encountered any bears,” Harel remarked to her companion, Elizabeth who had insisted on El after a day of travel.

“...Please don’t jinx us.”

“Jinx?” Harel asked in confusion. El blinked and then hummed under her breath, looking thoughtful.

“...Jinx is like… when you say something and then it happens? Or there is the jinx game where if you say something at the same time and one person says jinx you can’t talk until someone says your name… but the way I meant it was that if you say it like that, it might happen?” El trailed off, looking awkward. 

“...I see.”

“I explained it bad, huh?”

“...Somewhat.” El chuckled as Harel shrugged. The two women walked through the woods, searching for the temple El had found proof of. 

Harel had tried to pry exactly who El’s elven parent was, and if said parent was Dalish, but El was more reserved than she had thought. Though truthfully humans were hard to read, even if they had elven blood it seemed.

“Wait-” El said suddenly just as Harel stepped on something that made a click. El dove, shoving the elf out of the way as sharp twangs filled the air as darts came shooting out of something and hit a tree. Harel lifted her head and stared at the tree as the bark began turning black.

“...I think we are on the right track,” Harel said as El stared.

“Holy crap, I did not think it would be that fast,” she said, staring at the bark. “These elves did not mess around.”

“Most of the Elhven didn’t, yes,” Harel agreed, as El rolled off her and the two stood. “I expect there to be more traps.” 

“It’s why I brought my climbing gear.” El agreed, opening her bag to pull out a bandolier she slung over her body, pulling out a rope. Strange hooks covered the bandolier, though Harel ignored it. They had to scale a small cliff before, and the gear had come in handy then. “We can avoid the floor traps if needed.”

“Smart,” Harel said, nodding. “Doubt much magical force is left powering any magical traps, so we’re good for that.”

“Hopefully no undead,” El said, shuddering. “That was awful.”

“Now who is… jinxing us.” Harel snorted. El made a face at her, and the two continued their trek, poking at the ground to make sure no more traps were around. They came upon the temple after a short period of time, Harel breathing out in shock.

“Mythal…” she said softly. “This is beautiful…” 

“Might actually be a temple for Mythal…” El voiced, stopping by a toppled tower and inspecting it. “I think I can make out some writing here…” Harel quickly moved over to look. Elvish writing was on the tower and she eagerly looked it over. “May your love be blessed and your… uhhh… something be plenty… I’m betting this used to be used for weddings.”

“Most likely, it does sound like our blessing for weddings now,” Harel said as El took her odd book and placed a page on the stone, rubbing charol across it to get an impression. “I wonder why a place for weddings would also have traps though…”

“Maybe it was for those who couldn’t get married safely?” El offered. “Like maybe it was built during a war?” Harel gave her a nasty look. “What? Look, you cannot tell me it was all butterflies and rainbows back then. War is a certainty among people. Maybe some people worshiped the Creators and others the… Forgotten ones?” she shrugged as Harel huffed, and instead headed into the temple, El following behind. 

The two carefully opened the doors to reveal beautiful golden murals that made Harel gasp at their beauty, twirling around while El headed over to look at some faded writing.

“I must tell the Dalish of this… this is a fantastic find…” Harel whispered in awe before she stopped short. “...That’s a statue of Fen’Harel.” El blinked and turned to Harel, who was staring at the statue she had found with writing at the foot. She looked up and hummed. It was a wolf after all. “Why would it be here?”

“It’s got some writing… give me a minute.” she peered at it as Harel came over. “...Our Lady’s Protector and Friend who stood true…” El peered harder at the words and Harel bent over to try and read the rest but couldn’t make them out.

“...Fen’Harel was Mythal’s friend?” El said in surprise. “We never… well, it makes his betrayal worse!” She huffed as El took an impression of the words again. The two continued their trek around the main room, careful to avoid traps. 

El began slowly piecing together what the temple was- a sanctuary for couples fleeing from something, something she had a terrible feeling she knew. 

She had only played the third game, after a bad accident when she had used her archeology degree and worked at a dig had ended with her ribs broken. Hannah has insisted on her staying with her and her husband, Josh, while recovering.

She nearly went mad in a day and turned to video games she borrowed from Josh, one of which was Inquisition. She’d played the entire thing, unable to let a single story pass her by…

As such, she had a few nasty feelings about why the temple was built. 

“What’s this…” said Harel suddenly, having found a mural of a wolf like being and a glowing woman, with the wolf like being holding the woman in it’s arms.

“...Maybe there really was a war and Fen’Harel was helping Mythal?” offered El, looking for writing. “She got injured or something…”

Like she died.

Harel looked confused and worried as they left the room to pad down to a few more. Most were simply full of broken items or bones, but one was interesting. A slab lay in the middle of a circle crudely carved into the floor, with bones upon the slab.

El swallowed. She had woken up in a room much like this when she found herself in Thedas.

Writing covered the wall and she scurried over as Harel inspected the circle.

“Blood magic ritual, fairly powerful…” Harel said. She hesitated then looked at the bones. “...Two sacrifices, both look to be…” she swallowed. “Under the age of five.”

“...Okay, I’m creeped right out.” El muttered as she studied the writing. She began taking an impression as Harel continued to study the bones. “How do you know so much anyway?”

“Skill,” Harel replied. “I’ve dealt with blood mages before. Most who do human sacrifice are crazy… or desperate.” 

“Never both?” El asked, mostly as a joke.

“Oh, often both.” Harel said. She turned to study the writing, humming as she peered through the sunlight coming in from a hole in the wall. “To those who read this, temples number many. One where the Sky Rises and Falls, Where the Oceans Falls Open, Where The Ones Lay To Sleep…”

“It’s basically the same message from the one I found before, though this time with more information about the other temples- Where the Sky Rises and Falls… Where the Ocean Falls Open…”

“Sky Rises and Falls could mean a mountain, and the tallest mountain I know is the entrance to Orzammar.” Harel said, studying it. “Though with that Blight happening right now…”

“I heard it was finished. A couple of Wardens killed the Archdemon, one became king I think.” El said, trying to remember the rumors. “Though I dislike the idea of actually going to it now, to many Darkspawn on the surface…”

“Where the Ocean falls open could mean Rivani,” Harel said, nodding in agreement to El’s words. “There’s an old Dalish tale about a pit that opened in the water and sucked down ships for days before the creature who made it was destroyed.”

“Oh, a whirlpool. That could be it,” El agreed. “It opened around Rivani?”

“According to the story.” Harel said, as El stood up, cursing when she cut her hand on a rock. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m...” El said, studying her hand and freezing when a moan came. She slowly turned her head to see the bones moving on the altar. “Ah shit, I jinxed it.”

“Less talking, more running,” Harel said, grabbing the human and dragging her along. The two dove through the hall, cursing when more undead shambled out of the other rooms. 

El yanked the hammer from her belt, smashing it down onto a skull of one that didn’t have any weapon while Harel used her polearm to slash and hack.

El ducked under a swing from an undead, smashing her hammer into the side of the creature.

“There’s to many… do you have any flint? Last time I managed to light these suckers on fire!” El called out to Harel who frowned.

“I have something better than that,” she hissed, before she yanked a piece of metal from under her robe and a sudden fiery blade came into existence, the woman slashing and hacking.

El froze for only a second before she kicked an undead in the stomach.

“Okay, maybe say you’re a mage next time?!” She yelled at Harel.

“I’m sorry, but it’s not like people react well to that!” Harel cried back, using her blade in her hand while also shooting lightning.

El didn’t pay attention to where she was stepping, and cursed when she heard a click, about to move.

No darts came though, instead, a rumble was heard.

“Okay, someone is really shitting me!” El shouted, upon spying a boulder coming at them. “Harel, we gotta move!” Harel bit out a nasty curse before she booked it down the hall, slashing through the undead. El followed, the two running as fast as they could. “I am not Indian Jones!” El shouted in annoyance, especially when she saw a wall dropping down from the roof of the tunnel. 

Harel threw herself under it, El barely following as the wall slammed down, and the boulder smacked into it.

They didn’t have time to talk yet, to busy fighting off more undead before they got free of the temple, where the undead didn’t chase them for some reason.

“They’re bounded to the temple. Really powerful blood magic…” Harel said, breathing heavily. “...I believe your blood was the reason it happened.”

“Shit.” El groaned. “Why my blood?”

“Perhaps it was the human blood in you. Your war story makes sense- perhaps the humans coming was the reason they built this temple to make their couples safe…” Harel offered. El didn’t respond.

That idea… made sense, but something said it wasn’t for that reason….

“Well, looks like Rivani is my next stop…” El sighed. “Going to take ages to find that temple…”

“...Do you still need an elven guide?” Harel asked. El blinked and turned to the elf who raised an eyebrow. 

“...Any elf who can make a sword of fire appear is welcome.” harel grinned in response, her sharp teeth shining in the light.

“This is going to be interesting.” Harel mused as El stretched. “And you need a better weapon.”

“...Yeah, I do.”

_ Two weeks later. _

A human woman stepped off a boat. She was of an average height for a woman, with short blonde hair cropped military style. She wore a strange bag on her back, with a bow and a quiver paired with it.

Lewis smirked to himself. A lovely target…

“I can’t believe you got that sick,” the woman said, turning to someone who stepped off the boat as well, an elf who looked like she had spent the last day being sick, dark hair hanging lank around her face, her fur lined cloak rumpled and gross.

“Lay off,” the elf said. “Boats do not agree with me.”

“What about your aravels,” the human teased.

“Not the same thing and you know it.” the elf snapped back.

Lewis sighed. Looks like his target was not a target after all…

-0-

El hummed, listening to the voices of the people all speaking what sounded like Italian to her. One of the few languages she didn’t know.

“I hate boats,” Harel grumbled, adjusting her cloak. “And I hate this heat.”

“You hate lots of things,” El told her companion. “And you’re wearing fur.” Harel made a face in response. “Come on, let’s go and get supplies.”

“And avoid the Qunari,” Harel muttered, eyeing one. El looked over, noticing the younger Qunari with horns that kind of looked like a bull’s, sprouting from either side of his head, following one around.

“They that bad?”

“They find out I’m a mage, yeah,” Harel said. “We’re in a more Qunari occupied side of Rivani.” She adjusted her cloak and the two headed to a merchant stall to buy some water skins and rations. Neither wanted to hang around the town more than necessary. Harel because of the Qunari and El because… well, movies always made it out to be a bad idea.

The two gathered their supplies as the Qunari they’d spotted passed nearby. They were speaking Qunlat, the only language El had never heard from Earth, looking annoyed. Harel frowned.

“You understand Qunlat?”

“Enough to understand they’re searching for something,” Harel replied. El nodded in understanding. “Come on, let’s go.” 

The two took off to the forest, slipping into the trees. El frowned though. She had a bad feeling…

-0-

The trek through the forest was spent most fighting off random animals and dealing with the heat. Harel was not pleased but refused to take off her cloak, looking stricken at the thought. Her long hair had been yanked into a messy bun though, and her makeup wiped off when it started getting smeary with sweat.

“...How old are you?” El asked, studying her face. Harel blinked and shrugged in answer.

“I have lived thirty-five winters so far,” Harel replied.

“Huh, you look super young with your makeup on,” El said.

“How old are you?” Harel responded, looking amused.

“Thirty-two.” Harel nodded in understanding, the two continued on their path without much more talk. El sometimes would mutter to herself under her breath, but otherwise, they rarely spoke.

El rarely found someone who she could travel with and be silent with without awkwardness. One of the biggest reasons her brief engagement to her fiance had failed was because El was not a large talker in social situations, while Aleena had been.

It was nice.

For Harel, she found herself finding the company of someone traveling with her a nice change from having no one around her. A Traveling Keeper was usually solitary, with few attachments. Harel had long since cut ties with her clan, and had grown used to a solitary life… or so she thought.  

When the night began, the two made camp in a small clearing, munching on some rations before sleeping, neither bothering with a tent given Harel claimed she felt no water in the air. 

El was drifting off when she heard it, a large crash. She sat up just as Harel did, the elf’s ears twitching.

“Not an animal…” Harel said softly, her voice barely reaching El’s ears. More loud crashes came and El scurried up a tree, Harel following suite while Qunari came through the trees. A young human was leading them.

“ _ Yes, the temple is this way,”  _ The man said in French… no, Orlesian. The Qunari were silent as they followed the man.

Harel and El hid in the trees, waiting for them to leave. Harel looked annoyed while El wanted to scream.

She did not sign up to be Indiana Jones!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -With the various contradictory info given about the Dalish, I decided that some clans are pretty awful. Harel originally came from a crappy clan she later left due to *SPOILERS*. These clans aren’t considered to be Dalish by the other clans, and are usually somewhat shunned by the other Dalish, though they will stick up for them if needed.  
>  Only once has a clan ever been cut entirely from the Dalish culture because they were the worst. 
> 
> -Yes, Harel and El are in their thirties. 
> 
> \- Aleena and El broke off their engagement on amicable terms due to various reasons.
> 
> -El has an archeology degree.
> 
> -Like in Mountains of Truth, El has had a wide arrange of jobs. 
> 
> -Harel is an Arcane Warrior. She also has other specializations, like DA: Origins. More will be revealed.


	3. Chapter 3

“This is utterly ridiculous,” hissed El as she crept along with Harel who looked furious. 

“No Qunari has any right to any temple from the People!” Harel snarled, baring her teeth.

“...Agreed, but you have to calm down too, alright? Being pissed might draw their attention.” El told her. Harel huffed but nodded. “So, the Qunari are interested in the ruins to… why?”

“Qunari talk a big game about hating magic, but from my experience, they dislike not knowing magic,” Harel muttered. “They are happy to use the knowledge of magic they gain, but hate not understanding what magic is and how to make mages, therefore more… weapons really.”

“How do you know so much about this?” El asked.

“Experience.”

“You’re Dalish.” El pointed out.

“I am a traveling keeper, I have much more experience than you,” Harel replied. El frowned but let it go. Everyone had secrets… though usually not as big as hers.

“Any other useful stuff about Qunari?”

“The one with the horns that looks like a bull’s is an… I wish to say apprentice? I do not know the right term for it because it’s not really an apprenticeship… he’s like… uhh…”

“A recruit? Someone with enough skill they can trust him but still needs to be taught things?” El offered.

“Yeah, that. Anyway, the one with the red band around his horns-”

“I did not notice that.”

“Elf eyes are better than human eyes, you probably did not get that from your parent,” Harel said. El shrugged, feeling a bit awful she was letting Harel still think that she was a half-elf. “He seems to be focused on keeping the kid alive- he’s walking closer to the kid and stuff. As well, the guy looks a bit similar to the kid. Most likely they are related by blood.”

“That’s common?”

“Qunari do not have families, but bloodlines are treasured by them. I remember me and Alexius broke into a…” Harel coughed and continued with the previous train of thought, while El frowned.

She knew that name…

“Anyway- probably related, the older Qunari knows and as such, is looking out for the kid.” Harel finished.

“...How old do you think the kid is?” El asked softly.

“...Fifteen? Perhaps?” Harel said, looking pained. El winced. “Yes, I do not wish to kill him.”

“But he’s a weak point.”

“He is.” Harel agreed. “...I can animate corpses.”

“...And you couldn’t do anything about the undead at the other temple?!”

“Necromancy is raising the dead. Not killing it, and it uses spirits. Blood magic forces the corpses to move, it’s not true reanimation like Necromancy… and even then-”

“I get it.” El sighed. “Okay, scare them with corpses?” Harel shrugged, looking a bit lost. “...It would be cruel to kill all but the kid.”

“Hence why I’m not suggesting it.” Harel’s face twisted for a second before she sighed. Her eyes took on a look of quiet thought, recalling memories. 

El did not interrupt. She had her own demons to deal with.

The two crept behind the Qunari some more, using the trees to hide. 

The Qunari were all fairly solemn-faced, the only one looking around in curiosity the youngest. 

The human looked nervous and was wiping his face often. He was not dressed for the Rivani weather and looked drenched in sweat, lifting his hat to pat his hair. He was grumbling as well, leading them further into the forest until…

The kid stepped on something and a loud click sounded, a pit opening up in the ground. The kid was dragged away as was the human, the other Qunari jumping away.

One of the Qunari began yelling at the kid, the kid wincing. El ignored it, to busy attempting to get ahead of them with Harel so they could try… something.

Various traps had been set off along the way they found, some with bodies still in it. Harel quietly cast a little spell to reanimate a few with spirit magic, the two of them continuing their path towards the temple.

It was gigantic, half-claimed by the wilderness around it. The two slid from the trees and checked behind them.

“...I kinda feel weird we managed to basically swing ourselves from tree to tree.” El said suddenly. Harel shrugged and the two continued into the temple, watching for traps.

A deep hole was in the floor, prompting El to pull out her rope. She carefully went to the wall where some stones still stood.

“I think these are steady… I’ll drive hooks into the wall so we have leverage though…” She pulled out her tools, getting ready.

“Should I pull them out once we cross? To stop the Qunari?” Harel asked El who hesitated.

“I suppose… though what I plan is trickier than the cliff we did…” El pulled out her tools to show Harel. “This is a hook. There's crevices in the wall I can jam it into and use to pull us along. I can leave them in there and just pull the rope out of the holes so we’re safer.”

“So they will not see the rope. Clever.” Harel said, nodding. “Let us pass then.”

El propped her foot on a protruding stone once she got the rope around herself, Harel waiting. She rested some weight on it, nodding once she felt it was steady enough, moving to continue her careful trek, Harel following. 

El fit the hooks into the crevices, the rope feeding through. Once they were across the gap, she let out a sigh of relief.

“...Wait, the rope is anchored to the other side…” Harel said. El sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “We’re going to have to leave it…”

“Yeah…” El replied. “They’ll know someone’s here.”

 Harel sighed, pinching her nose, but the two continued anyway. El stopped to study the writing and take impressions while Harel studied the pictures. Most were just inscriptions saying what the pictures were. 

The further they got though, the more the pictures and murals became detailed. A woman marrying two people together, a woman seeming to argue with someone. 

Harel was convinced it was Mythal they were seeing in the pictures as they walked. She seemed so thrilled, so happy.

El, however, looked closely at the pictures of the many figures, all glowing, holding orbs.

“I think those are foci…” El said thoughtfully, kneeling down on the ground to study the writing.

“...Foci?” Harel asked. 

 “The orbs… ah, here we are-  _ Falon’Din… Orb of Death-  _ lovely name-  _ reser…  _ I think it says resurrecting-  _ soldiers in battle…  _ something, something  _ Mythal.”  _ El read from the script, making a face at the missing words. “So… a foci? He’s using it for something.”

“...So there was a war… perhaps it was during the War with the Forgotten Ones.” Harel said, nodding. El didn’t reply, only hummed. “What is with that noise?” Harel demanded.

“... History is not always like it was in the stories.” El replied. She shrugged at the nasty look. “I have the same feeling towards the Chant. It was not the gods or a prophet spoken to by a god that like… created these. It was people and people are petty, jealous and selfish beings. Humans, in particular, are the worst, but I know that elves can have a nasty streak too.” Harel’s eyes flashed angrily for a second, startling El given they flashed red, but she seemed to deflate suddenly.

“...You’re not wrong…” Harel sighed. “But these stories are important, they are our people’s legacy. We are the last of the Elhven. We carry these stories to honor our forefathers!” she turned and walked off, leaving El wincing.

She really shouldn’t have said anything.

The two continued with their treck, stopping to create torches when they began going into the deeper parts of the temple. El began hoping that the Qunari had been scared off by their corpses as they stumbled upon a scene that made Harel drop her torch.

A glowing woman- Mythal- being stabbed by someone she’d been depicted as marrying previously. A wolf-like figuring mourning her and a funeral with many people with face markings removed.

“...What is this…” Harel asked, horrified. 

“The Death of Mythal…” El read off the inscription. She looked up at Harel who looked so horror-struck. “...It’s just a picture.”

“But why…” Harel demanded. “Why paint it?”

“You should wonder something else… like if you’ll survive us.” The two women turned to see the Qunari standing there, scowling, with the Orlesian male looking worse of wear. 

“...Did you actually just say that?” El asked, dumbfounded while Harel snarled.

“What is this?!”

“I’m Professor Jean-Luke of Elven Artifacts at the University of Val’Royal.” The Orlesian spoke up. “I hired these Qunari to help me discover something I only heard rumors about- the Tomb of Mythal.” He looked pleased. “By finding her orb, I can prove that Mythal was not a goddess and that the Heathen Dalish are fools!” he looked maddened. 

“How was she not a goddess?” El asked. “I mean, yeah, death, but maybe Gods can die…”

“The Foci!!” the man snarled. “No God would need one!”

“Again, how do you know! I mean, seriously!” El threw her hands up. The Qunari looked amused while Harel was blinking.

“You basically just said that you didn’t believe in this,” Harel told El who snorted.

“I’m cynical but I also can allow that until I have proof I make no claims to anything.” The man scowled at them.

“If a mortal can use the orb then it is proof enough!” Harel rolled her eyes, hard. El just sighed.

“This guy is nuttier than a tree. Why did you guys agree?” El asked the Qunari.

“Tal’Vasoth do anything for coin,” the professor replied. That got a scowl from the Qunari.

“...You’re an idiot. They aren’t Tal’Vasoth.” Harel groaned. The Professor snorted.

“A sovereign that this idiot only got the title professor because he’s rich,” El told Harel who snorted.

“No bet,” she told her before she pulled her staff from her back. “So, why follow him? Cause it’s a powerful Orb? Good weapon for an invasion, correct?”

“You are intelligent for a bas,” the lead Qunari said, the younger Qunari slightly hidden behind his back. The professor looked insulted for a second, opening his mouth as he stepped forward and…

Darts exploded from the wall. Harel slammed a barrier down while the Qunari moved out of the way. 

The Orlesian wasn’t so lucky, and he fell, his hat falling off his head and coming to rest at El’s feet. She looked down.

Huh… looked like the hat from Indiana Jones.

El picked it up and studied it.

“Good quality,” she said, placing it on her head. After spending a few years climbing mountains everywhere, she’d seen enough dead bodies that she’d become desensitized towards it. 

The sudden witnessing of death? That was harder though she had seen people die before. Accidents at digs or on mountains.

Nothing ever affected her as much as her first death though, watching her little brother die…

El blinked, wrenching herself back to the present while the Qunari scowled at them.

“You are the mage behind those corpses-” snarled the leader. Harel just shrugged, smirking. 

“Perhaps… I’m also the mage behind this.” She twirled her staff and thrust it towards them, causing an explosion to occur, as she turned and grabbed El’s hand. “We need to find the Orb before they do!” El didn’t hesitate, running off with Harel. 

The dove through the temple, running into more traps that the two had to figure out while the Qunari decided a direct approach was better, using gaatlock to get through the walls.

“They’re destroying it,” Harel said in a horrified voice. “They’re destroying it and nothing will-”

“People don’t tend to like things that challenge their views, but enough about that- we need to move!” El said. Her mind kept flashing to the Trespasser DLC. The Qunari, getting a hold of something as powerful as an Elvhen God’s Foci… they would be unstoppable.

The women ran through the temple. El barely noticing the various descriptions on the walls. Harel, however, saw a picture that made her stop and drag El down another hallway.

“Where are we going?” El demanded, jumping over a pressure plate.

“That picture- it’s a symbol meaning burial site. Where is the best place to put a foci for Mythal?”

“...In her burial site!” El shouted, the two continuing their run. 

They got there before the Qunari and Harel had to stop, staring at a tree that grew in the light coming from what had once been grand windows, and the large holes in the walls.

“...Harel…” El said softly as she stared at the tree. “We need to-”

“We plant trees on our graves. Life in death,” Harel said, her voice barely a whisper. “For Mythal and Anduril… but what if… what if we plant trees on our graves because they planted one on Mythal’s?” El reached out to grab her friend’s shoulder.

“Then you honor your goddess even more,” she told the woman honestly. Harel slowly nodded in understanding as El looked for some sort of answer to the location of the orb. 

Pictures of mourners covered the walls, with the pictures of the wolf-being among them.

“Did he shut the gods away for their actions?” Harel whispered as she looked at them. El didn’t answer, to busy having found a hole in the tree itself, looking as if the tree had created a room at the base of it. She carefully stepped into the room. Carvings were in the tree, but they looked… odd. To natural to have been made by human hands.

In the middle of the room, a broken orb was laying on a pedestal, broken right down the middle. El reached out to pick up a piece, holding it carefully in her hands as she turned it over to look at the swirling design on it.

Something felt like it was humming in her hands, making her blood ache as she studied the orb. 

What was…

“El!” Harel shouted, and El was broken from her thoughts, grabbing the other piece and coming out holding them. Harel looked pained, staring at the foci.

“She’s really gone… isn’t she?” Harel asked so softly that El’s heart broke for her friend. She opened her mouth only for a loud boom to sound. Harel grabbed the peices and put them into a bag as the Qunari came through the wall. 

“Bas.” the lead snarled. “And Bas Saarebas.” The two traded looks while the man snarled at them. They turned and ran as one. The Qunari shouted in Qunlat and the group ran after them.

Harel threw a fireball behind them, avoiding the tree while El looked for a place to climb up, finding on and grabbing Harel to carry her up. The elf jumped but let the stronger woman carry her as she climbed up, still throwing fire at the Qunari.

“Where’s the little-” Harel began only for El to curse. Harel craned her neck to see the young Qunari at the top of the wall. He grinned at them.

“Thought you might come up here, to good at climbing not to notice it.” He looked way to proud.

El’s eyes darted for another way around him, spying a hole in the wall nearby them with a ledge. She grinned.

“Yeah, I’m good at climbing… and jumping!” She dove for it, throwing Harle to the ledge first so her hands were free to grab onto the ledge. Harel let out a curse, but landed on the ledge, grabbing El’s hand to pull her up. The Qunari all cursed, with the younger one sounding heartbroken.

“We’ve got to go!” Harel said, going to the hole, but El hesitated for a second, wearing the hat she’d taken from the Orlesian. Should she… should she…

Ef it.

“I wish you to remember this day as the day you ALMOST beat El Snow!” she shouted, sweeping the hat off her head and bowing. Harel groaned, loudly, from behind her as she dove out of the hole in the wall, carrying the broken pieces of Mythal’s Orb.

El cackled and followed while the Qunari shouted at them, the kid looking impressed and furious.

“Are you serious?” Harel demanded. 

“My nieces would never forgive me if I let a line like that go.” El cried out in delight, the two running away from the temple. “...Crap! My gear!”

“We’ll get a dwarf to make you new stuff, let’s go!” Harel replied. They dashed into the forest, carrying the pieces of the orb with them.

El felt her heart in her chest, screaming in joy and pleasure. She hadn’t found what she’d been looking for…

But she didn’t mind what she found!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -El now has an Indiana Jones hat. She is going to love this.
> 
> -Harel’s reactions to Mythal seem stilted ut that’s because she’s more focused on the fact they’re running for their lives. She’ll freak later.
> 
> -El has seen way to many bodies. She’s climbed to many mountains others died on to care anymore. And well… seeing the death of a family member kind of made her numb.
> 
> -Who is this Qunari lad? I wonder.
> 
> -I still can't find the proper voice for Harel. She's supposed to be rather poised and calm and it's hard to write for me so I keep changing how she speaks. Eventually I'll end up settling on something... hopefully.


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you sure about this?” El asked Harel as they approached the University. “It means a lot to your people.”

“Who would believe me? Thanks to the Qunari the temple is gone, and I can not prove what we found was real. I did tell a few other Dirthemah’Dirthalas when we passed through that town-”

“I knew you were doing something.”

“-but they’re the only ones who would believe. And we agreed, honestly, that something like this should be placed somewhere more protected then a random Dalish clan. We’re not always in contact with one another- it would be easy to wipe out a clan and take the orb without anyone noticing for years.” Harel said. “Giving it to the University to be placed in a museum is the best idea.”

“Hopefully they don’t ask what happened to what-his-face.”

“Take off his hat then.”

“Never.” El declared as they walked right into the University and up to a woman Harel had learned was the buyer of the artifacts for the museum. “Hello, I’m Elizabeth Snow and this is my companion Harel Shirala.” Harel gave a bored nod. 

They had bickered over how to approach this. El had wanted to have Harel be part of the find but Harel had replied they’d get more money if it was human only. As such, she played the savage bodyguard.

El had pointed out she was not savage looking. Harel had replied that her tattoos would make them think so.

“Hello… and why are you here?” Sniffed the woman. El replied by opening her bag and pulling out the notes she had compiled.

“Because we found something in an Elven ruin… a foci meant for one of the so-called Elven gods.”

-0-

“Seven hundred sovereigns, nice,” El said, grinning as she shook the bag they had been given. “I’m surprised a broken orb was worth that much.”

“You pitched it as if it disproves the Creators.” Harel pointed out. “Which was smart.” 

“I didn’t mean to… how are you holding up?” El asked Harel who sighed.

“I do not know. Finding out Mythal is dead, that Fen’Harel isn’t actually a bad guy… it’s hard to swallow.” She closed her eyes and sighed through her nose. “Way too hard to swallow.” She crossed her arms. “I need to know more, I need to find out more…”

“There’s another temple… if you’re interested.” El offered slowly. Harel hesitated before a grin spread across her face.

“You know what? Yeah, yeah I am.” El grinned right back.

This was going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dirthemah’Dirthals- a Traveling Keeper. 
> 
> Short fic!! Really though- this is much more of a general introduction into El and Harel then anything. I also wanted to show some dynamic between the two or at least the start. Hope you guys enjoyed this!!


End file.
